Dreams of Deception
by lborgia88
Summary: Why is Jason having strange dreams, and what do they mean? For a challenge: turn an unused Gatchaman episode into a Battle of the Planets episode.
1. Chapter 1

This is the result of a challenge suggested by Unpublished Writer, namely to take one of the 20 Gatchaman episodes that were never used in Battle of the Planets and rewrite it to be a BOTP episode. I selected the Gatchaman episode #102, "A Reversal! Checkmate X!" but the two dream sequences here are from another unused Gatchaman episode, #78 "Mortal Combat! 10,000 Meters Under the Sea." Battle of the Planets episodes sometimes used footage from more than one Gatchaman episode, so I figured I could do it too.

I decided to write it as a story rather than a script, though.

Using Sandy Frank's production order, where BOTP episode 66 is "G-Force Defector," 70 is "Strike at Spectra," 71 is "Galaxy Girls," 72 is "The Conway Tape Trap" and 73 is "Awesome Ray Force," I would put this one in between 73 and 74.

Not that episode continuity was stressed so much in Battle of the Planets, but I'm not claiming that this could be an actual BOTP episode –the plot got a little too weird for that. However, I've discovered it's not so easy to take existing footage, cut out what's unsuitable (ie. violence), come up with new dialogue that matches the speakers in the remaining footage, and then create "filler" to replace the footage that was cut. I have a much greater appreciation now for what the BOTP writers accomplished!

Dreams of Deception

_It was happening again._

_He saw a beach, with gentle waves lapping against golden sand and sunshine dancing on the sea and casting dazzling motes of light into his eyes…_

_But for Jason, stirring in his sleep and grimacing, this was far from a happy dream. Lying on his trailer's small bed, one hand clutched the sheet as his wordless sounds of distress escaped into the waking world._

_Waves, frothy with white, were breaking and spilling and he was running, desperately running as fast as he possibly could on the shifting and soggy sand of the strand. But he was smaller, his legs were shorter, yet he was driven by fear…_

_Always, it was a dream terror with no apparent origin or rationale, but it wracked his mind and body._

_That woman and that man were seated at the table on the beach, slumped forward onto it, their faces hidden in their hair -hers golden like the sand, his dark._

_Wake up! Wake up!_

_He was pleading but they were limp and unmoving._

_No!_

_And there was always that laughter, that low, smug laughter flowing from the shadows of a nearby cabana. And he was suffused with anger too, an anger as mindless as his fear._

_Who were this woman and man?_

_And who was she? That horrible laughing woman with the mask, with the stars on her chest, holding a rose…_

_She was the cause of all his pain –somehow he knew that. As ever, he took the gun from the man's loose grasp and trained it on her. Could he protect them? Could he save them from her!_

"_Don't you know children should never play with guns?"_

_Wake up!_

_Too late. She threw the rose, pale pink and soaring towards him…_

_Wake up!_

"Wake up!" Jason snapped upright in his bed, heart pounding, and awash with nausea. But there was nothing now but his trailer in the darkness before dawn and a blurry-looking moon glowing behind the trees. He stared, willing his eyes to focus, his visceral terror to give way to reason and reality.

"Why do I keep having this dream?" he muttered, "Ever since that masked Spectran woman attacked me and the Chief…"

Breathing a little easier, Jason rubbed his head wearily with one hand in a vain effort to soothe the ache in his temples and continued to stare out his trailer's open door where the real world lay and another day was about to begin.

He couldn't know that at that moment, many miles away, 7-Zark-7 was talking about him, even as he pulled his clothes on and stepped out of his trailer into the soothing cool of the silent, predawn air…

"_I care about every member of G-Force, but lately it's Jason who I'm most worried about…"_

0000000000

At Center Neptune, Zark was pacing back and forth.

"Yes, 1-Rover-1," he said, "It seems it always Jason I'm most worried about. I know he's been having some problems with his vision and his balance, and his attitude is suffering too –skipping missions and briefings, acting resentful towards Mark, disobeying orders from Chief Anderson…"

1-Rover-1 yapped helpfully.

"That's possible," continued Zark, "I think he's just been suffering from stress and too much work lately –goodness knows, foiling Zoltar's evil schemes is a never-ending job. I'm almost positive he's not sleeping well at all these days. I've monitored him, when he's been staying here at Center Neptune, and it looks likes he's been having some very bad dreams. I've told Chief Anderson."

1-Rover-1 yapped again.

"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if he's dreaming about scary things that have happened. In his time with G-Force, he's faced so many frightening situations –every member of G-Force has. But I've been wondering… All I know is that Chief Anderson adopted him when he was six, and just orphaned. I tried to access the complete records on Jason's childhood, but they are so thoroughly buried, there's apparently only one hard copy and no one has clearance to read it except Chief Anderson. Not even me! "

Not for the first time, Zark wished that his many sensors, probes and monitors could enable him to read minds.

And yet another yap from 1-Rover-1.

"No," said Zark, with an inflection of regret, "The G-Force members' cerebonic implants give them their extraordinary abilities, but they don't let me know what they're thinking... or dreaming."

But before the robot canine could emit another yapping query intelligible only to Zark, a flurry of flashing and blinking lights from his console caused the distinctly unaerodynamic robot to flap his cape and awkwardly fly the short distance across the room to his panel of monitors.

"Oh dear! A fleet of ships has left the Crab Nebulae and it's headed for the nearby planet of Tolack -this can only mean that evil Zoltar has come up with some new, dastardly plan!"

Zark was a microsecond from contacting Mark, to initiate the process of dispatching G-Force to foil Spectra's latest act of aggression but his central processing unit reminded him that the planet Tolack, while a "friendly" planet of late to the Federation, was not in fact a member of the Federation of Planets. Their close proximity to the Crab Nebulae, he recalled, put Tolack's leaders in the tenuous position of maintaining neutrality towards the Federation and being a reluctant friend to their neighbor, Spectra.

He liked to speak as if addressing an audience, even if 1-Rover-1 were the only one to hear him -it made him feel more sentient and less like an automaton. After explaining the situation aloud, Zark felt he could rightfully declare that if Spectra did attack Tolack, it could be just the thing to persuade its leaders that they needed to belong to the Federation, and that their planet needed the protection from Spectra that only G-Force could provide.

But sending G-Force to Tolack's aid now was a decision for Chief Anderson to make. But, as Zark remarked hopefully, even if he couldn't immediately send G-Force himself, he could certainly send messages to Tolack to warn them of the incoming Spectran fleet so that they could choose to evacuate their major cities before its arrival. He eagerly began pressing buttons...

0000000000

A massive explosion erupted, completely obliterating the top of the tallest skyscraper in the city of Metropia on Tolack's southern continent, sending flames shooting high into the air and hurling chunks of rubble in all directions. In the wake of this initial blast, a fleet of dozens of Spectran ships swooped in over the city like a plague of insects, which indeed they resembled. Some destroyed more buildings with lasers fired from their eyes while others used brute force to crush more buildings or to smash clean through them. Soon, Metropia was awash in flames as the victorious Spectran ships perched on the tops and sides of burning buildings, spectators of their own attack's calamitous results. But fortunately no Metropian citizens were present to suffer from this treachery. Zark's warning messages had been heeded and the city had been evacuated in the nick of time.

0000000000

Business was slow at Jill's restaurant as prospective customers, no doubt, were reluctant to venture forth in the heavy rain that had been falling all morning. But Princess had felt compelled to use the time in some productive manner. Keyop was content to just listen to music on the radio, along with Mark and Tiny, as she dried and put away dishes. Hanging around Jill's was an unofficial G-Force ritual and Jason's absence today was unusual. Although, Princess thought to herself, he has seemed more distant and even… troubled lately.

"And now, a Galaxy News Bulletin," cut in a radio announcer's voice, "Spectran forces have attacked the city of Metropia on planet Tolack."

"What?" gasped Princess.

Mark turned towards the radio, frowning. "They're at it again."

"They just don't know when to quit, do they?" muttered Tiny as he moved closer to the radio.

"Initial reports from Tolack authorities," continued the announcer, "state that prompt evacuation measures have prevented casualties and that a counter-attack is imminent. Stay tuned for updates!"

"Why haven't we been alerted?" said Princess, looking to Mark, "Shouldn't we have heard from Chief Anderson or Zark?"

"Chief Anderson, come in," said Mark urgently into his wrist communicator as Tiny held his to his ear. But there was no response. The radio had reverted back to music now and Keyop turned it off.

"Not like… Chief or Zark," he said worriedly, with his characteristic verbal tics, "But Tolack... not member of Federation."

"That shouldn't matter," declared Mark, standing up, "If Spectra's attacking them then we can't just sit here. Tiny, go get the Phoenix and then come pick us all up!"

As Tiny and Keyop now ran for the door, heedless of the rain outside, Mark added, "Princess, tell Jason what's going on before you head out."

"Right," said Princess. Jill would understand if she closed up the place early –it wasn't as if she'd be losing business. Not with this lousy weather.

0000000000

Remote controlled tanks rolled slowly through the rubble-strewn streets of Metropia, past the rows of ruined, still-smoking buildings. Sighting their targets up ahead –Spectran ships perched upon other buildings- they fired volleys of missiles.

Far away on Earth, all this was being observed by Zark on his monitors.

"Oh my," he noted, "The missiles are damaging the buildings more than the Spectran ships. I hope that Tolack's robot fighter jets can do better."

But it was not to be. The Spectran ships, undamaged by the tanks' missiles, now turned their wrath on both the tanks and the incoming fighter jets. The jets fired an intense barrage of missiles at the insect-like ships stalking through the streets but the laser beams fired from the ships' eyes destroyed both the tanks and the jets.

"Tolack's best efforts to defend itself aren't going to be enough," concluded Zark sadly, "I simply _have_ to contact G-Force."

0000000000

Princess and Keyop had just been picked up, but there was no sign of Jason anywhere. Tiny had quickly taken the Phoenix up above the rain clouds, and now the new arrivals both entered the bridge. Princess quickly approached Mark.

"I heard from Zark," she said, "The Chief's at Camp Parker, and Jason's supposedly there too."

"I knew he couldn't be racing," said Tiny, frowning, "Not in the rain."

Their last mission, in which they'd thwarted Spectra's anti-transmutation ray gun, had begun with Jason refusing to pull out of a race in order to respond to an emergency summons to Center Neptune. Chief Anderson hadn't been at all pleased by his disobedience –could their unexplained retreat to Camp Parker today have something to do with that?

"Jason? Chief?" called Mark into his bracelet, but there was no answer.

0000000000

Rain poured from the skies over Jason's trailer, so heavily the clearing in the woods where it was parked almost resembled a lake. Jason was not there, and neither was his car. But very strangely, his wrist communicator was, lying abandoned on the edge of the bed.

As water streamed against the trailer's windows, Chief Anderson's voice came over the communicator.

"Jason, you were supposed to meet me at Camp Parker –where are you? Jason, respond!"

Chief Anderson might have been able to hear the sound of rain beating against the trailer's roof, and that was only response he would get.

0000000000

On the bridge of the Phoenix, Mark lowered his communicator and bowed his head resignedly as he ended with "I understand, Zark."

"The Chief's busy with a research project," said Princess, touching her chin in puzzlement, "And orders are coming from President Kane…"

"Tiny," said Mark, seating himself, "We can't leave Earth yet –keep us here."

But just as Tiny cut the thrusters back, President Kane himself appeared on-screen.

"Ah, G-Force. I'm glad to see that you've got the Phoenix launched and ready."

"Please tell me that we're going to Tolack, Sir!" replied Mark.

"I can certainly do that," the president replied, "This is the Federation's chance to show Tolack just how much it needs us, by sending G-Force to save them."

"But you should know, Sir," added Princess, "that there are currently only four of us."

"Chief Anderson requested leave to research an important intelligence matter –one that he said requires G-2's participation. I have to trust that it's as important as he says, and I'm sure that the four of you are still more than a match for the Spectrans on Tolack."

"It looks like we're going to have to be," concluded Mark, "We'll depart immediately for Tolack, and show its people what G-Force and the Federation can do for them. Take us up, Tiny!"

"If we need to fire missiles," said Princess to Mark, "Will you fill in for Jason?"

"Of course he will," declared Tiny, "And he'll do a great job at it."

With that, Tiny closed up the Phoenix's nose bay and took them into space.

0000000000

Inside a small office building, Jason pulled his t-shirt back over his head. He'd been up before the crack of dawn that day, so it hadn't been as hard as he'd expected to doze off for a bit here at this sleep clinic. The doctor, who'd just finished his examination of him, was seated now at a desk and studying readouts from his diagnostic equipment.

"So, can you tell why I'm sleeping so badly these days? It's really been messing me up."

"Your test results are most unusual," replied the doctor, "Have you any known genetic irregularities?"

"No, of course not!" declared Jason.

"Well, if that's so," replied the Doctor, frowning as he turned to face him, "then it narrows down the possibilities considerably, but you could very well have a serious illness."

Jason could only stare blankly, before turning away towards the window and the rain that continued to fall outside.

_No, that can't be it…_

"Look," continued the Doctor, standing up now, "We shouldn't jump to any hasty conclusions, not before I've done more thorough tests on you."

"More tests?"

"I'll need to draw some blood samples from you," said the Doctor, gesturing to his own forearm, "After that, you won't have to wait around here; you can leave and come back in, say, two hours."

Jason wasn't at all happy about this –he hated needles. But did he have a choice?

"Fine. Whatever it takes."

0000000000

"I'll see you in two hours, Mr… Smith." These were the last words Jason heard as the office door closed behind him.

_The dizziness, the blind spells…_

Jason was lost in brooding thought as he walked towards the elevator to leave.

_It's just fatigue. I can't be sick…_

The elevator was heading for the lowest level. He couldn't be bothered waiting for it to come back up –he walked towards the stairs.

Had he waited, he would have seen the woman who was now exiting the elevator. He had only seen her once before, briefly, a few weeks earlier when he dropped off the hitchhiking girl, Lana. Chief Anderson and Mark had seen a lot more of her, though, and they'd since made sure everyone on the team knew how to recognize Mala, Zoltar's sister.

"My lady, is that you?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes, Dr. Ratold," she replied as she entered his office.

"I must tell you about my latest patient," he said, "But first…" He escorted her to a room Jason had not seen, shoving aside the heavy curtain that covered its entrance. Once they were both inside, he lowered a barrier that blocked the entrance securely.

"As always, you were correct," he continued, "That house _is_ used as a retreat by top personnel in Galaxy Security. The man who is staying there right now is definitely Chief Anderson."

"I had a feeling that if the place were kept under surveillance long enough, we'd find him there," said Mala with a smug smile. She walked over to the massive surveillance scope and seated herself before its viewer, taking a look for herself at the distant, seaside house. "When I was on that train with him, he made some small talk –before he knew who I really was- and mentioned he'd been staying at a place with an ocean view."

Mala took in the sight of her hated enemy, Anderson, seated at a desk in an upper level room.

"He arrived there a couple days ago," said Dr. Ratold, "But I wanted to confirm his identity before notifying you. He's spent most of his time, as far as I can tell, at that very desk, studying a bunch of documents –research of some kind, I'd guess."

"Yes, that's definitely him," said Mala, standing up now, "And the fool has no clue that we know exactly where he is. Initiate the plan!"

Dr. Ratold hastily began pressing buttons on a large control panel behind her.

_You may have escaped from me once, Anderson_, thought Mala, _but not this time. And this time, I have some questions for you._

0000000000


	2. Chapter 2

It was still raining when Jason pulled up in front of his trailer. But when he got out of his car, instead of running inside he just stood there, stalled by indecision, letting the rain fall on his head and shoulders.

_That guy could be a quack; I should go to one of the doctors at Center Neptune,_ he thought, feeling water trickling down his face, like tears._ I have to know what's really wrong with me._

_But I can't risk the others finding out –not before I know myself what it is…_

He was glad he'd not used his real name at the doctor's office or worn his wrist communicator. The last thing he wanted was to be recognized as G-Force, or tracked by Zark. However, standing here getting drenched accomplished nothing. Back inside his trailer, he sat on the edge of his bed, slumping forward as one readying himself for bad news.

_Why do I keep having that same dream, with that Spectran woman like the one that attacked the Chief and me, and those unconscious people at the table?_

_And I'm just a little kid in that dream, but nothing like that ever happened to me… Sure, there're big gaps in what I can remember, before the car accident, before Mom and Dad died, but I don't know who that man and woman are supposed to be. I can't remember ever being at a beach, before…_

But suddenly he remembered something far more current and real. His eyes flew open as he lifted his head.

_I forgot to meet the Chief today!_

0000000000

The Spectran ship's insect-like head, targeted with precise laser fire, blew apart in a burst of flames as Mark watched with grim satisfaction from the cockpit of his jet.

G-Force had just announced its arrival on Tolack.

Six more ships came at him now, closing in, but with his jet's greater speed and maneuverability, it wasn't hard to pull up sharply and come around behind them before they knew what was happening.

His laser cannon fired anew, sending them to oblivion.

Elsewhere in Metropia, Keyop was busily dropping bombs from his buggy that fell upon those Spectran ships still clinging to the remains of destroyed buildings.

Princess, operating at street level from the vantage of her galacticycle, saw a Spectran ship loom suddenly before her, but she easily blew a hole clean through it, and as she sped beyond it, it exploded into pieces. The next one she encountered met the same fate.

On the Phoenix, Tiny was demonstrating that he didn't need Jason there –or anyone else- to fire missiles; he could do plenty of damage to these Spectran ships simply by ramming the Phoenix into them head-on. Their debris rained on the ground below, and any that Tiny was unable to bash, Mark shot down with his laser cannon.

It was all so easy.

"It's all too easy," thought Mark, now looking about suspiciously at the havoc he and his three teammates had wreaked. These ships weren't even firing back at them. And here, he had been concerned they'd be at a disadvantage with Jason absent…

Dozens more ships were still in the air, so he shot down a few more of them and then flew closer to inspect their wrecks, now on the ground.

They were almost completely empty.

He called into his communicator, "Princess, Keyop, meet back on the Phoenix –right now!"

This met with a "Huh?" and a "Mark?" but he led by example and docked his own jet first.

"There are no Spectrans here," he replied, "Or at least, not anymore."

0000000000

"It hasn't been two hours, but I'm sick of sitting here," said Jason to himself as he opened the door of his trailer to face the rain yet again. He was carrying his communicator in his hand, but made no move to return it to his wrist. "I'll go see Anderson as soon as I'm done meeting with the doctor."

He sprinted to his car and got inside hastily. His communicator he tossed into the glove compartment. If anyone tried to contact him right now, he had nothing to say to them. Not yet.

Water spraying from its tires, Jason's car now left the trailer behind and sped back into town.

0000000000

"So what do you think, my lady?" asked Dr. Ratold as he and Mala walked out of his office and into the hallway.

"If he's nineteen, how could that be?" She paused, frowning slightly. "You say there's an implant in his head, with old surgical scars -surely that's causing his problems, not 'latent physiological imbalances due to a hybrid genetic background.'"

She began to walk towards the elevator, as he followed at her side.

"From how you describe him," Mala continued, "he could be a soldier; perhaps his own military is doing experiments on him he doesn't even know about."

"Of course, my lady," Dr. Ratold hastened to agree with her as they entered the elevator, "But there's been a Spectran presence on Riga much longer, and there are articles in their medical journals that describe very similar cases…"

The elevator doors closed, just as Jason was coming up the stairs. His ascent complete, he paused. Now that he was actually here and on the verge of getting an answer to all the problems he'd been experiencing, that he'd tried to conceal or at least downplay to everyone else, he was more hesitant than he wanted to admit.

"I'm still too early," he said to himself, "and I hate waiting rooms. At least in my car I can listen to the radio."

Jason turned and began retracing his steps, listening to his footfalls echo in the empty stairwell.

Dr. Ratold and Mala emerged from the elevator into the lobby, and he dutifully escorted her to her car despite the rain.

"So, what is your decision?" he asked.

"I suppose you could be right," said Mala, casually as if humoring him. She'd shut her car's door, but lingering in the rain and leaning closer, Ratold could still hear her. "When he returns, inject him with a tranquilizer –then contact me."

Jason didn't hear her words, but as he was just about to leave the building, he saw her and recognized her face. He lurched backwards, shocked, before she could notice him.

_You have no idea, Ratold_, thought Mala, _just how very important he could be to me._

She smiled. _It's been so many years…_

As Ratold bowed, acknowledging her orders, she sped away. It was time to meet Chief Anderson again.

Still unnoticed, Jason glared now at the doctor, who was turning to reenter the building and pausing to flick something from his coat's lapel. But as much as he wanted to grab Dr. Ratold and shake him down for everything he knew about his sinister, blond visitor, Jason knew that would have to wait.

"I'm on your tail now, Mala," he muttered. But speed was vital.

He rushed out from where he'd been lurking. He didn't care what this doctor thought now and he didn't care if he missed his second appointment with him!

"Gotta run!" snapped Jason as he dashed forward to shove his way past the startled doctor. He had to get to his car, before it was too late to follow Mala.

0000000000

On Tolack, the Phoenix hovered low over the ruined landscape of Metropia. On the bridge, everyone was now staring at the view screen and seeing what Mark had already discovered. The wrecks of the Spectran ships that they'd destroyed without a fight were indeed empty.

"They must have had crews when they first arrived," said Mark, "Zark says their initial attack here was strong and we can see for ourselves all the damage they did. But now they're just automated –programmed to fly around, but not to do anything else."

"I can't reach Zark," said Princess, "Do you think they've jammed our comms?"

"Very likely," replied Mark, "Some of the Spectrans might have dispersed and gone into hiding here. Others might have managed, in the aftermath and confusion of their initial attack, to take some of their ships back to Spectra… or somewhere else –if Zark's picked that up on his sensors, he obviously hasn't been able to let us know. All I know for sure is that something really _stinks_ about this whole situation."

Keyop, Princess and Tiny all stared at him apprehensively.

"I think," he continued bitterly, "That all this has just been a trick to lure us to Tolack and get us out of the way." Mark walked backed to the front of the bridge and settled wearily back into his chair, "The real action is going on somewhere else. Tiny, take us up into high orbit –quick! We'll try contacting Zark again from up there."

Princess and Keyop ran to their seats.

0000000000

At his desk, at Camp Parker, Chief Anderson stared down at the bundle of documents and intelligence reports that lay there. Their paper was slightly yellowed, but then, they were at least thirteen years old, most of them.

_A female agent, he thought, wearing a mask, throwing roses. And her. All those years ago… could it really be her?_

He continued to flip through the documents, the only source he had –except himself.

And now, maybe Jason too.

_Late, again. Where was Jason? Why wouldn't he answer his communicator?_

_He couldn't be racing; not in this rain._

_But maybe it's just as well he's not here…_

So engrossed was he in his thoughts, he didn't notice the arrival of the insect-like Spectran ship until it loomed large in the window before him. As he leapt to his feet in alarm, the window shattered and wind engulfed the room.

0000000000

As ever, Zark was pacing.

"I'm so worried, 1-Rover-1," he said, "I'm about to blow a capacitor. Ever since G-Force reached Tolack, I haven't been able to contact them."

1-Rover-1 yapped.

"Yes, I'm sure they're fine, but they don't know that another Spectran ship has come to Earth! I lost track of it when it entered some dense rainclouds, but I think it was headed for Camp Parker. That's where Chief Anderson and Jason are, and I can't reach anyone there either! "

"Zark, do you read me?" As Zark spun around, Mark's face was now visible on one of his monitor screens.

"Commander!" exclaimed Zark, zooming closer, "Am I glad to see you!"

"Glad to see you too," replied Mark kindly, before adding more crisply "Listen –we're leaving Tolack. The attack was just bait because Spectra wants us to be here, out of the way. What I need to know is where Spectra _doesn't_ want us to be right now!"

"I'm afraid it's Camp Parker, here on Earth. You must go there immediately!"

"That's where the Chief is, and Jason, right?"

"Yes," said Zark, "I observed a Spectran ship heading that way but I haven't been able to contact them, and the rain storms are just _ruining_ my orbiting sensors' view!"

"We'll be there on the double," said Mark, "Just as fast as the Phoenix can go! Don't worry."

With those words, Mark's image abruptly disappeared.

"Well," said Zark, spinning now to face 1-Rover-1, "If anyone can get to the bottom of what's going on, and foil Spectra's plans, it's _G-Force!"_

0000000000

Mala's car drove through the rain. She was outside the city now, and passing fields and country homes on either side of the road.

Perhaps it was the poor visibility that prevented her from noticing that a member of G-Force was closing in on her. Jason had transmuted now, and was at the wheel of his spacemobile. But for Jason, the rain didn't conceal two intensely bright lights that were the eyes of an insect-like Spectran ship, descending to land behind some abandoned buildings far ahead.

_You can run but you can't hide, Mala_, he thought.

He braked abruptly, pulling his car behind a massive tree for temporary concealment. But he was surely going to storm that ship and soon. After all, it had to be exactly where Mala was heading now.

What he couldn't know, was that Chief Anderson had already encountered this very ship…

0000000000

Chief Anderson slowly raised his head, struggling to muster his wits from the grey fog that enveloped them. The last thing he remembered was…

_Spectrans!_

His eyes flew open now. He was seated in a large chair inside a chamber whose walls resembled the multi-faceted eyes of an insect –eyes like those of the Spectran ship that had attacked Camp Parker.

As the last remnants of oblivion clouding his vision dispersed, the figure of Zoltar loomed before him, confirming what he dreaded.

He was now Zoltar's prisoner.

"Did you have pleasant dreams, Chief Anderson?" asked Zoltar, his voice oozing triumph.

"G-Force will rescue me!"

"Don't be so sure of that," smirked Zoltar, "An attack on planet Tolack has lured G-Force there. By the time they learn they've been diverted, it will be too late for you."

"So you think you'll succeed where Mala failed?" replied Anderson, determined to sound calm. He would not let Zoltar see any sign of the fear that now gripped him.

"Mala's plan to destroy you on that train was brilliant," declared Zoltar, sweeping his arm dramatically, "You were merely very, very lucky that day. I assure you, that won't happen today."

"You weren't there that day, Zoltar. Let me ask you this -do you trust your sister?"

"What?" demanded Zoltar.

"You see, I've since realized that I met Mala before, long before that day on the train -many years before, in fact. And now I think she recognized me too that day. And those masked Galaxy Girls -I know now that at least one such female Spectran agent has been to Earth before. Many years before. Again, do you trust your sister, Zoltar?"

"What nonsense is this?" laughed Zoltar, "You couldn't possibly have hard proof of any disloyalty on Mala's part!"

Outside the Spectran ship, the gun of Jason's spacemobile opened fire on one of the ship's eyes, unleashing an explosion and causing a chunk of it to shatter and fall away.

Hearing the noise, Zoltar turned suddenly. "What was that?" he demanded loudly, "Report!"

"It's a member of G-Force!" responded a Spectran soldier, "The one they call G-2!"

"Ratold was right!" gasped Zoltar.

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Outside, Jason accelerated his spacemobile as hard as he could and tore across the rain soaked grass towards the Spectran ship. Using a low rock ledge as a ramp, he launched his vehicle into the air and soared straight through the hole that he had blown through one of the ship's insect-like eyes.

Inside the ship, Jason found himself speeding down a long corridor, flying past Spectran soldiers too stupefied to do anything but stay out of his spacemobile's way. He had to find Mala, but first…

He lifted his wrist communicator.

"Mark, if you're there, track this signal!"

0000000000

The Phoenix had just reentered Earth's atmosphere. As it sped towards Camp Park, Mark was anxiously staring at the view screen. Hearing Jason's voice suddenly coming over his communicator was both a relief and a cause for further consternation.

"About time! What the heck's going on?"

A second later, he called over to Princess, "We can't wait for an answer –just track Jason's location now." To Tiny he ordered "Follow the coordinates she gives you."

"I'm on it!" replied Tiny grimly, momentarily pulling back on the thrusters in preparation for a sudden change in course.

"Everyone get ready," said Mark, frowning, "I think we're about to find out what we've been missing out on."

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Chief Anderson stood up.

"Thirteen years ago, I was the sole contact for a woman who wanted Federation protection in return for information about a planet with long-range plans to attack us."

"If you want to trade information for your safety now," said Zoltar, smiling, "You're going to have to tell me something I _don't_ already know."

Chief Anderson's brow wrinkled, but he spoke again quickly even as panels in the floor slid aside before them.

"We arranged to meet, but she was abducted. No witness but a drugged and traumatized boy, babbling about a masked woman throwing flowers and-"

But Chief Anderson was rendered silent at the sight now before him. What had risen up from the floor compartment was an anti-transmutation ray gun –just like the one that G-Force had faced during their last mission.

And now Zoltar was speaking again.

"I don't think you've seen this yet, but surely G-Force told you all about our latest weapon?" he said.

Anderson didn't answer; he could only stare, stunned. A glass partition suddenly descended from the ceiling –trapping him and separating him from Zoltar, and the ray gun.

"You didn't think Dr. Glock could make only _one_ of these, did you?" continued Zoltar. Pointing at Anderson, he added, "That boy that you found –did you put a cerebonic implant in his head and wipe his memories? Did you turn him into a member of G-Force? I think I'm about to find out!"

Chief Anderson couldn't keep his face from grimacing.

_Jason…_

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	3. Chapter 3

The corridors were narrower, further inside the Spectran ship, and Jason had left his spacemobile to search for Mala on foot.

"You just stay stunned for a while," he said, casting aside the now-limp body of a Spectran soldier who'd tried to stop him.

Brandishing his fists, he shouted, "I know you're here, Mala, and I'll find you!"

"Ratold warned us you were coming."

With these words, Zoltar stepped around a corner in the corridor, and into Jason's view.

"Two for the price of one," declared Jason, now rushing towards him, "Can't pass up a deal like that!"

Zoltar fled.

But not very far.

He dashed back into the room he'd emerged from –the room containing the imprisoned Chief Anderson and the anti-transmutation ray gun.

He had just enough time to reach the gun, and aim it.

A second later, when Jason tore into the room, hot on his heels and about to fire his cable gun, Zoltar fired the ray straight at him.

Trapped, Chief Anderson couldn't do anything but stare in horror, his hands pressed up against the glass barrier that confined him. The ray caught Jason full on and he was unable to get out of its path, despite his efforts to hurl himself to either side. "No!" he cried, as its detransmuting and stunning effect took hold of him. Within a few seconds, he was unconscious on the floor with his face exposed for all to see.

"Yes, it's him!" cried Zoltar, elated, as Chief Anderson looked away in utter dismay, "A hybrid teenager! And with a G-Force implant no less…"

Jason lay unmoving, flat on his back with his cable gun still in his now-loose grip.

Several Spectran soldiers who'd fled from him earlier came rushing into the room, now that it was apparently safe, eager to see the true face of their longtime enemy.

"Look but don't touch," ordered Zoltar, "We are going to take him back to Spectra with us, very soon."

He walked over to Chief Anderson, who was staring down numbly in an effort to conceal his despair.

"And to think that it was you," he sneered, rapping on the glass barrier to get his attention, "who had him all this time without knowing just _who_ you had. Of course it _would_ be you. And you turned him into a member of G-Force. Truly, fate has a perverse sense of humor!" Here Zoltar threw back his head and laughed, a laugh of triumph and bitterness.

Turning now to the soldiers, Zoltar shouted, "Guard him!"

All the soldiers pulled out their guns and trained them on the still-unconscious Jason.

"If he wakes up," added Zoltar, "make sure he doesn't escape, but _do not_ shoot him!"

Suddenly, with a cry, a Spectran soldier flew over the heads of the others, crashing into two other soldiers and knocking them down. A second later, another Spectran soldier was hurled over their heads as well.

As the remaining soldiers abandoned guard duty and turned in shock towards the doorway into the room, whence the flying soldiers had come, a flurry of blows knocked them all off their feet.

"That'll keep you out trouble for a while," said Mark, now standing up straight. Moving his arms confidently into a fighting stance, he glared at Zoltar.

"Thought we were still on Tolack? Surprise –we're home early!"

With these words, Princess, Keyop and Tiny came rushing in as well, spreading out to secure the room and ensure they covered any other doors or escape routes.

"You'll wish you all stayed there," snarled Zoltar, readying the anti-transmute ray gun, "I'll get you!"

At that moment, no one was looking at Jason, still lying on the floor with his head turned to one side. If anyone had been, they would have seen that his eyes were twitching beneath their lids.

_He was dreaming again._

_He saw a cascade of pale pink petals, falling through the air before a surreal, distorted sky…_

_He was small again, and lying on his stomach with his chin in the golden sand. He gritted his teeth and struggled once, trying to resist, trying to get up. He had to stop her! But it was no use. Everything was now fading away…_

_Everything except that horrible woman with the mask and the stars on her chest. She had thrown the flower at him, and now he was slipping away._

_But he could still hear her voice._

"_You're lucky I tracked you down first because I'll let you live, and keep your treachery a secret from your brother. You're young and in love, my dear, and therefore so very stupid. But some day you'll be wiser and you'll understand, and then you'll be grateful to me for dragging you home. Alone."_

_The sand was so warm, his eyelids so heavy… He couldn't even open his eyes. What was happening?_

"_As for you, little one, you'd better stay here. We've no use for mongrels on Spectra."_

_No!_

_His mind was filled with anguish, and panic._

_Wake up!_

Jason's eyes flew open and he straightened his head. In that instant, all he could see was the hated anti-transmute ray gun that had shot him moments before. He felt blindly for his cable gun, now lying beside his thigh. Gripping it, he snapped upright and fired it straight at the ray gun's barrel.

It was the same instant that Zoltar had fired the ray gun, aiming to detransmute the Commander of G-Force, but now the cable from Jason's gun blocked the ray gun's barrel. With no way to shoot forward, in a split second the anti-transmuting energy had created massive internal pressure within the ray gun.

The ray gun exploded, sending an intense blast of its energy back towards Zoltar. He screamed as his mask was completely shredded away and a large section of the glass barrier that was trapping Chief Anderson shattered into fragments. With a whirl of long, blond hair, Zoltar staggered back now, beyond the chair that Chief Anderson had first regained consciousness in, keeping his back to everyone and clutching his face with his hands as he cowered, trembling but still conscious.

Chief Anderson emerged from behind the chair and stared at Zoltar. Jason was back on his feet now, glaring at Zoltar's huddled form. He spun his cable gun briefly in his hand before tossing it aside.

"So you've seen my face. It's only fair I see yours now, Zoltar!"

Jason strode towards his foe, grasping the back of Zoltar's purple cloak.

Mark and the other members of G-Force could only stare, appalled and transfixed. No one had ever seen Zoltar's face…

"Don't be shy, Zoltar," muttered Jason, and he jerked his arm to wrench Zoltar around to face them all. Zoltar made no sound, but resisted being turned with all his might, still covering his face with his hands.

Chief Anderson quickly stepped through the ragged gap where the glass barrier had been shattered.

"Wait, Jason," he said, "Stop."

Jason whipped his head around at these words. Surely the Chief was as eager to see Zoltar's true face as the rest of them were.

"I've figured it out," Chief Anderson said, "Zoltar's not the only one skilled at disguises."

Mark frowned, turning to the Chief. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is this: this isn't Zoltar, this is Mala."

"Mala?" gasped Princess. Tiny and Keyop exchanged bewildered glances.

"Yes, I'm certain of it now."

"Zoltar's just been a disguise, all this time?" asked Tiny, trying to make sense of this bizarre revelation.

"No," said Anderson, "Just this one time, I think. Zoltar is real."

Jason let go of Mala's cloak and she slumped further to the floor, still hiding her face.

"But Zoltar isn't here on Earth now," said Chief Anderson, "In fact, I wonder if he even knows that Mala is here. You see, many years ago, when I was a Federation security agent, I was contacted by an anonymous woman."

Mark and the others listened in tense anticipation.

"She claimed," continued Chief Anderson, "to have detailed information about another planet's long-range plans to attack Earth and other Federation planets. If I recall, she warned that Riga was the first target for conquest. She seemed to know what she was talking about."

"Yes," said Princess, "You'd sent Cronus there already."

"Right," replied Chief Anderson, "and in return for giving me all her information, she wanted a guarantee of protection from the Federation and a new identity. I didn't know who she was or where she was from, and she didn't know my name, but we did communicate once on view screens. It was shortly before we were to meet in person for the first time, to finalize the deal, and we'd agreed that we each needed to know what the other looked like. I arrived at the appointed place at the appointed time, but she wasn't there and she never did show up. I was able to piece together from… witness reports, that she had been abducted before I got there. I never saw her again –that is, until barely a month ago when I took a ride on the Solar Express train with a Mala Latroise from 'Public Relations.' I didn't recognize her at first –I'll admit it took weeks of me wracking my memory, knowing I'd seen her somewhere before, to realize where I knew her from."

Chief Anderson paused briefly, as he, Mark and Jason all continued to stare at Mala's back as she continued to huddle on the floor, her face still concealed with her hands and her long, blond hair.

"Even then I wasn't certain –I had to dig up and search through some very old records in order to be sure. But, of course, I should have realized that if I remembered her, then she might well remember me. I should have been more careful."

Now, Mala began to tremble as Chief Anderson continued to speak.

"Yes, Mala," he said, a harder edge to his voice, "I've figured out your deepest secret of all, haven't I? Does Zoltar know? What would happen to you if he knew –if he knew _everything?_"

At last, Mala turned around to face them all, her eyes wide with distress and anger as she scowled terribly at them. Lingering effect from the anti-transmute ray's backwash was causing her face to briefly flash blue. She was like a wild animal that had been cornered but would surely attack.

"My deepest secret?" she hissed, "You think you have me, with that?"

Chief Anderson, Mark and Jason all recoiled slightly; such was her aura of menace.

"Zoltar won't believe you, Anderson! No one will ever believe you! And the only way you could prove it –you don't have the guts to expose the only 'proof' you have! No, you'll keep it hidden, and ignorant, just like you have all these years! But now I know your secret too!"

With these final words, Mala threw her arms up in the air. A swirl of intense wind suddenly surrounded her, lifting her out of the room and up to a level up above all of them.

"She's escaping!" cried Mark, but the wind was hurling the pieces of shattered glass all about and he had to protect Chief Anderson, shoving him aside and shielding him even as deadly shards embedded themselves in the floor and walls.

Up above, Mala now stood beside a beacon that was emitting an intense white light, so powerful that all who stood below were temporarily blinded. Wind continued to swirl about her.

"Don't try to follow me!" she cried, "By the time any of you can see clearly again, I'll be long gone."

A moment later, the light had faded and she ran towards a secret door in the wall that opened to admit her and then sealed after she had passed through it.

Mala had escaped.

Mark had pulled out his boomerang, but he hadn't thrown it. His eyes flickered in pain and he clenched them shut.

_My eyes_, he thought, _I can barely see._

Around him, Chief Anderson was covering his face with one hand. Kneeling now, Jason was doing the same thing with his forearm. Princess, Keyop and Tiny stood, blinking uncertainly. No one spoke. No one knew what to say.

Jason broke the silence.

Raising his head, he looked towards Mark. "I take it you got my message?"

"Yeah," replied Mark, "I'm actually glad you skipped today's mission."

"That's… right," chirped Keyop, as his and Tiny's eyes widened in realization, "Otherwise… couldn't have found this ship… or rescued Chief."

"Exactly, if it hadn't been for you," said Mark, with a glance over to Jason, "We'd have arrived at Camp Parker to learn the Chief had been captured, and would've had no idea how to find him." His jaw tightened as he pondered what a close call it had been. "All the dense rain clouds were interfering with Zark's sensors."

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Mala ran through the woods as fast as she could. So many things had gone wrong today, she had to assume that G-Force might be pursuing her at that very moment, despite her using the blinding beacon against them.

_This day_, she thought bitterly, _was to end with my triumphant return to Spectra, with Chief Anderson as my prisoner._

She forced herself to keep running fast. She needed to reach the small escape ship she'd hidden deep in this forest –as soon as possible!

_But I got my answers; I have found him at last._

She could see the light up ahead now that marked her escape ship's location. Yes, soon she would be safe from G-Force.

But she would not be safe.

_What if Zoltar finds out? I must track down Ratold! If he talks to Zoltar first…_

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Mark put his boomerang back in its holster. It was too late to try throwing it at Mala now.

Jason, sufficiently recovered from the blinding light to be able to stand again, turned to Chief Anderson and spoke in a voice raw with confusion and confession.

"Chief, I keep having _really_ weird dreams."

"Weird dreams?" said Mark, turning to look sharply at him, "Is that what's been messing you up lately?"

"About that, listen to me, all of you," said Chief Anderson, his tone was even but his eyes were grim.

Jason rushed over to stand beside his teammates. If the Chief thought he could remove him from G-Force…

"The problems you've been experiencing lately, Jason –including any strange dreams- I've figured out what's causing all of them. You see, that's what I was researching at Camp Parker."

Mark listened intently. _So it's more than just stress and fatigue_, he thought.

"It's your cerebonic implant, Jason –it just needs a simple readjustment."

Jason and Mark exchanged a mutual look of surprise.

_Was that all?_

Everyone was silent for a moment. Jason, for the first time in weeks, felt himself truly relax as a sense of relief washed over him and cleansed him of anxiety.

_I'm not seriously ill, I'm not going insane, and I'm not going to lose my place in G-Force._

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At Center Neptune, Zark and 1-Rover-1 looked as happy as it is possible for robots to look.

"Chief Anderson has been rescued, 1-Rover-1," said Zark merrily, "And I've also just been told by President Kane himself that the planet Tolack is so grateful to me for warning them."

1-Rover-1 yapped.

"Yes," continued Zark, "And they're also so grateful to G-Force for coming to their defense that they've formally petitioned to join the Federation! Zoltar's not going to like that!"

And Zark's day suddenly got even better, as Mark and Princess both came walking in.

"Hi, Zark," said Mark cheerfully, resting his hands casually on his hips.

"We have some good news," said Princess.

"Is it about Jason?" asked Zark eagerly, "You know, I've been so worried about him lately."

"The Chief figured it out –Jason's implant just needs a tune-up," said Mark, sounding relieved himself.

"You see, he's had it since he was six," added Princess, "It helped him recover from the car accident, when he lost his parents."

"Oh," said Zark, "I do see. Why, oh, why didn't I think of that? I need tune-ups and readjustments all the time! Why, just yesterday my sub-circuit rheostatic transducers _all_ needed to be tweaked for better resonance." He raised his hands briefly, before continuing. "But is it true that Mala has seen Jason now, out of his G-Force uniform, and knows what he looks like?"

"She saw him," said Mark, clearly trying to reassure Zark, "But she doesn't know his name or where to find him."

"The Chief thinks that as long as he's careful," said Princess, "and lays low for a while, it'll be okay. Don't worry!"

She leaned over and kissed Zark on the top of his head.

Zark trembled and made a giggling sound.

"Everything's just marvelous, then," crooned Zark cheerily, "A new planet is joining the Federation, the Chief has been rescued, and Jason's going to be fine. Once again, G-Force has saved the day and right now, I have _nothing_ to worry about!"

The End.

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I have done a follow-up, a BOTP version of Gatchaman episode 103, called _Truth and Treachery_.

See my profile page for a link to a version with screen cap "illustrations."


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